Chicago International Film Festival Editorial

The Chicago International Film Festival is happy to join forces with Champs-Élysées Film Festival to celebrate cinema in these two stunning cities. The oldest North American film competition, the Chicago International Film Festival participated in the discovery of many talented directors, by presenting the first films of Martin SCORCESE, Bertrand TAVERNIER, Ava DUVERNAY and Alejandro G. IÑARRITÚ among many others. Over the last 52 years, we have screened and rewarded the best of French cinema. We invited acclaimed directors and actors, to premiere their films or as guests of honor, including Leos CARAX, Patrice CHÉREAU, Philippe CLAUDEL, Jacques DEMY, Abel GANCE, Isabelle HUPPERT, Claude LELOUCH, Jeanne MOREAU, François TRUFFAUT and Agnès VARDA. We also screen the highlights of French cinema, not only during our festival in October, but also during our annual programming, our free international summer screenings, our international TV Award in April through Cineyouth (an international youth film festival) and also to public school students through our educational program.

Champs-Élysées Film Festival has become the reference of American independent cinema in France. Therefore, we are proud to present a selection of indie films taken from our festival, each representing Chicago in a specific way. Furthermore, Andy DAVIS, guest of honor and award-winning director who had been honored in Chicago, will attend the festival to show, through his films, his love and admiration for his hometown. The Fugitive is a gripping thriller as well as a love letter to Chicago. Through this twinning, we are happy to participe in the gathering of two festivals and two cities, as we celebrate in 2016 the 20th anniversary of the Sister City program between Paris and Chicago.